Brazilian Supreme Court delays decision on Lula's cabinet appointment

Brazil's Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to postpone a decision about whether the nomination of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as the government's chief of staff was valid, Justice Teori Zavacski told the press.

The justices voted 10 to 1 to delay the analysis in order to judge all the demands regarding the appointment.

On March 17, hours after Lula was sworn in as the cabinet minister, Supreme Court Judge Gilmar Mendes said the nomination was an attempt to shield the former leader from corruption investigations relating to oil giant Petrobras.

Under Brazilian law, only the Supreme Court can authorize the investigation, imprisonment and trial of cabinet members and legislators.

In addition to Mendes's request, the Supreme Court also received two other motions demanding the removal of Lula from the cabinet post, Zavascki said.

However, the Supreme Court did not set a date for opening the case, which would further complicate matters for the Rousseff government already reeling from an approval in the Chamber of Deputies on Sunday to press for her impeachment.

Some analysts see that the Supreme Court decision will impact the Senate's debate on the impeachment, since Lula will be speaking in defense of the government. Endi